


Rhea's Space

by RitaPaige



Category: Aliens - Fandom, Science Fiction - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aliens, Female Lead, Love, Multi, Science Fiction, Sexual Content, Slice of Life, ex-military
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-01-16 17:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21274616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RitaPaige/pseuds/RitaPaige
Summary: Rhea has just woken up from a year in a medical coma. Her best friend and almost lover is there when she wakes up. Life is difficult for a woman who has no idea how this new world works. Times sure have changed since she was last on Earth. Follow her in her quest for her place in love.****Looking for Alpha Readers, hit me up on twitter to find out how to get early access to other works and maybe help define them. @RitaPaige4 Thanks so much!****





	1. 1

Air rushed by her ears, and then a scream rang out. Rushing air, and a horrified scream. It was like reliving a nightmare, only she didn't know how it ended. The scream came from a voice she knew, but who did it belong to? It sounded like a man….  
The sprawling desert below reached up with it's sandy dunes, as if it were trying to pluck her out of the bright blue sky. It was a clear day, whatever day today may be. No clouds, no birds, no sign of anything living actually…. She felt her chest become compressed.  
There was a distinct lack of ability to breath for her. She tried to swallow but her mouth was bone dry then she felt her own yell come out. It wasn't a scared scream just an alarmed one, if not more of a surprised sound. As if the need was a primal one.  
She waited for the blackness to fade in and the loop to begin again but this time was different. The blackness came but there was a light in the center of it.  
Rhea did her best to lift her head and look around, it was hard at first. Her eyelids felt like lead bricks on her face as she tried to lift them to see the world around her. The light coming through her eyes burned at first, but as she blinked away the darkness she slowly adjusted and the pain went away.  
A steady repetitive beep came from a nearby monitor on her right side. She came to the quick conclusion that she was in a hospital room. But why was she here? There was a large window to her right as well, and outside the sky was a bright blue with a stray white cloud here and there. Just lazing by slowly with the small gusts of wind.  
She got lost in the world outside, it was a beautiful day, a small bird flew past her window then it went along it's way out of her view. She felt as if time had moved on without her.  
How long had she been out? Where was she? Why did she feel so sluggish? What happened to put her here in the first place?  
Everything hurt but in a numb way. As if her body had been sedated. She most likely was, considering the morphine drip on her iv.  
Her name was Rhea Drell, but most of her friends called her Ray or Sunshine. Because no one knew how to pronounce her name. But also because she brightened everyone's lives whenever they were around her. It was something about her personality that made the whole room a bit brighter.  
A flushing sound grabbed her attention and turned it towards the bathroom door on her left side. A tall man with dark black hair stepped out of the bathroom, he had a muscular physique and an angular jaw currently hiding behind a rough beard. Judging by his appearance he could have been from the military. He wore a plain t-shirt with a simple pair of jeans. She noted that his right arm was mechanical. And that he looked quite surprised to see her.  
His face changed from surprised to happy as he walked over to the bed. He wrapped her into a gentle hug before taking up the chair next to her bed. He held her hand in his, holding her as if she would break.  
She hugged him back as memories began to creep in the back of her mind. She remembered him, he was her dearest friend. And she so wished he had been more than that but it wasn't meant to be.  
His name was Captain Hirosima Tanaka. He was her superior in the military. But they had become very good friends while serving time together.  
“Hiro?” She questioned as he pulled himself together. He looked a bit rough around the edges today.  
He lifted his head that smile still on his face. His strong hand brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. Many different bandages covered her head to toe. What happened to make her this injured? The bandage around her head did nothing to slow the headache that was slowly pounding its way into existence.  
Hiro was thankful to see the transition from full body cast to only the few bandages she had here and there. It was a large improvement from the day that she was brought in. That was a day he'd never forget.  
“Rhea...You’re finally awake.” Hiro sat back in his seat but kept his hand on hers. “We have been so worried about you.” His voice was close to gone.  
“What happened Hiro? I remember you being in trouble. I-I went to help and it got blurry from there…” She closed her eyes trying to remember what had happened. Her head hurt too much to think right now.  
“We had started assaulting the main ship of the enemy fleet. Then the enemy revealed that they had you and were holding you hostage to get me to stop my assault. You somehow managed to free yourself and then joined me in our attack."  
"Oh...right. You had infiltrated the ship." "Despite protests from the team…" It was all starting to come together...being kidnapped. Hiro sneaking onto the ship to destroy it from the inside. The large creature that almost strangled her to death in front of him...She shook her head to keep from tearing up.  
"The fighter jets had hit the ship causing it to lose altitude at a faster rate than we had predicted. I slipped away from you. I barely held on myself.” His eyes were full of sorrow as he spoke to her. He refused to tell her but he blamed himself for what happened to her. If she had died that day, he would carry that burden in his heart forever.  
“That’s right you almost fell off.” She said turning to face him.  
“You screamed my name and as I turned to look, that huge monster had you in his hand dangling you over the side of the ship. Before I could get to you," Hiro took a short breath. "He let you go.”  
Rhea closed her eyes again this time holding onto her head as it all crashed back to her. The alien man that had held her hostage to get her Captain to negotiate with him. It was terrifying, the wind rushing by her, the vastness of the desert around them. Life had seemed so small in that moment. Then something changed inside of her. She came to peace that this was the end. Somewhere deep inside of her she had hoped that Hiro would go on, beat the alien man and survive. Like the fighter he was. But at least she had been right about her Captain and his abilities.  
“You’ve been in a medical coma for little under a year now. Luckily when you fell, you hit the ground in such a manner that you didn’t break all your bones. The doctor's think what saved you the most was your space suit. The suit was beyond repair when we got you back but it did its job in keeping you alive. You were lost in the dessert for two days before we got enough man power to go look for you.” Hiro spoke firmly and evenly. He knew not to sugar coat it for her. It wasn't going to be easy news for her to take either way but he was happy to be here to help her through it.  
How? Why? How did she survive that? There was no reason for her to be alive right now. Perhaps it was her willingness to die? She did position herself to lay down as she came crashing down back to earth. Her face wore an expression of concentration for she sat lost in thought.  
“Rhea is awake!” A male voice called from the hallway. A young lean man with tan skin walked in. He was skinny as a rail with the hint of muscles here and there. He ran over and dropped the bouquet of flowers he held onto the foot of her bed before scooping her up in a tight hug. Tears came to his eyes as he held her in his arms. “Holy shit you’re okay…” He murmured to her as he set her back down but kept hugging her.  
She managed a slight giggle before he hugged her a bit too tight. “Danse...too tight.” She gasped as he squeezed her side wound. She winced from the discomfort but held onto a smile for his sake.  
Danse let go and sat on the edge of the bed. “When did she wake up?” He asked looking over to Hiro.  
“A few minutes before you walked in.” Hiro chuckled to himself.  
“Hiro who else made it? Was everyone okay? I completely forgot about the rest of the team.” Rhea tried her best to not panic but it was building up. She had so many questions.  
“Don’t worry Rhea, everyone got roughed up a good bit but they all made full recoveries.” Hiro explained.  
Rhea sighed in relief, leaning back against her pillow. The other five members of their special ops group were fine. “Good...I was worried about you guys.”  
Their group was a special division of the military that worked with other worldly beings or aliens as the civilians like to call them. In all actuality they were aliens to the planet Earth. But in an attempt to make peace with the .O.W.B’s the military and other government people avoided using the term.  
The specific type of alien they had been dealing with were the Zeriell, a lethal and deadly species. Their leader had recently made attempts to make peace with the Earthlings. But many in his government were unhappy with this decision and went rouge. Some soldiers went and formed mercenary groups to attack the planet in revolt to their weak leader.  
It was the responsibility of the special ops group to go and disband the mercenaries to prevent them from doing any more damage. The mercenaries had bombarded the poor little planet with heavy military fire for months. Fortunately, the special ops had gotten rid of the problem with few casualties. The men and women who made up the Earth's defense force were the only ones lost in this recent mission. Their job was to buy as much time for the special ops team to return from their deep space mission. They bravely did their job and served their planet.  
One of those poor souls lost was the Captain's finacé. A wonderful man by the name of Adam. Rhea had hoped that one day she would meet him...  
The team had picked up Rhea from an alien prisoner exchange. They welcomed her into the special ops group, since they would be traveling together for a very long time.  
It was about this time that tensions between the Earth and the Zeriell had begun to heat up. The Zeriellian leader had openly announced his involvement in ending hostilities between the two groups. Effectively setting things in motion for the mercenaries to raise up and revolt.  
Rhea began to learn more about these people, who would become her friends. And unintentionally hit on the Captian more than once not knowing that he had someone back home.  
Hiro didn’t see any harm in gaining a friend out in the loneliness of space. Besides he enjoyed the time he had spent with Rhea. More than once he found that he didn’t have the heart to tell her that he was gay. He tried dropping hints to her before finally telling her about Adam.  
Eventually He opened up about how he felt to be so far away from him. Adam and Hiro had a major fight about him leaving the planet again, Adam told Hiro that he wouldn't be there when he got back. I guess Adam was right....  
It completely broke her heart to learn that Hiro wouldn't be able to love her the way she did him. But she put on a brave face and didn't let it ruin their friendship, it actually made their bond stronger.  
“I’m so proud of you for pulling through Rhea.” Danse said as he picked up her flowers again. Danse held a blush on his cheeks as he stared down at the flowers in his hands. He played with the plastic covering letting his mind wander  
Hiro smirked a little, he was about to make some mischief. “This one has been bringing you flowers every week since you got here.” It was then that she realized how many different vases and all sorts of cards decorated the room. When they first met Danse had a small crush on Rhea but it never panned out into a full relationship.  
Danse’s cheeks grew darker as he kept his focus on the flowers for a moment or two longer. “Oh...Yeah well the Captain has been by your side every day." He turned to face Rhea. "He's been like a loyal watch dog. Even going so far as to make it were, we’ve had trouble getting him to go back to work. Or simply to take a shower.” He retorted without much thought. Hiro wasn't the only one who could play dirty.  
Rhea looked between the two men a bit of pink starting to tint her cheeks as well. “You two really did all that for me?” She asked, her voice a meek whisper. Unsure of how to feel about it. On the one hand she felt incredibly loved at the moment. But on the other they had given so much of their time to be with her and she hadn't been aware of it.  
Hiro looked away and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah...we all were so worried about you..." His ears turned red as he was getting frustrated. "I couldn’t bring myself to leave your side. Especially since…” He trailed off not daring to tell her what she already knew. Her family had been long dead before she even made it back into the solar system. Unfortunately due to time dilation, she had been stuck in space for quite a few decades. This meant what had been only a few years to her had been the rest of her parents lives and then some. Being an only child in a line of only children,meant that she had no living relatives to visit her.  
Rhea grabbed a hold of Hiro’s left hand and gently rubbed the back of it with her thumb. “Thank you.” She smiled at him then took a hold of Danse’s forearm with her other hand. “Both of you are incredibly sweet, thank you for staying with me.” The look she shared with Danse was a teary one. "I don't know what I did to deserve such great friends like you but I'm happy to have you in my life."  
The men smiled back at her and replied in unison. “Anytime.” Hiro shared a look with Danse and knew they were both thinking along the same lines. "I couldn't imagine my life without you Rhea..."  
Danse felt a bit like a third wheel, so in hopes to change the mood, he handed Rhea the flowers. “I gotta tell the others that your awake. They want to hear the good news as soon as possible.” He pulled out his phone and headed into the hallway to begin a group call.  
“So what all has changed since I was out?” She asked, looking to Hiro as her fingers played with the plastic around the flowers. They were beautiful. She hoped he hadn't wasted too much of his money on flowers for her. Still she loved the gesture, she couldn't wait to get out of bed and give him the biggest hug and kiss she could muster.  
“The Earth has been fully accepted in the Intergalactic Alliance. And they have used their influence to supply us with aid and are still helping us rebuild."  
"Wow...that's great news." Rhea was glad that they had finally negotiated terms with the .I.A.  
"It's not the only news…” Hiro grinned at the other man as he returned from the hallway.  
“Oh? What is it?” She asked, cocking her head a bit.  
Danse looked away as he ended the call then smiled up at Rhea. “I finally got a date with Kay.” He fidgeted with his phone for a moment after taking his seat again. "We've been going steady since we got out of the hospital..I think I'm going to ask her to marry me soon."  
Rhea's face lit up, she was so happy for Danse. “See! I told ya, she liked you.” Rhea beamed at him as she tapped his arm with her fist. Not like she could try and punch him any harder.  
“Annnd the Captain has been doing well with his boo.” Danse gave a devilish grin to Hiro. Getting his sweet revenge.  
“Wait...what boo?" She asked, looking back to Hiro. Her curiosity growing by the second.  
Hiro's cheeks flushed, he coughed to try and defuse the situation. He really didn't want to talk about it. "Things are getting serious with Curtis…" That was all he would budge on, for now.  
Rhea's eyes widened a bit. "You’re still seeing Curtis?” She asked, the skepticism thick in her voice. She didn't mean it in a bad way, it was surprising to know that they were still together. Hiro grew a shy smile and nodded. "Wow… I've been out for almost a year and missed the Captain's romance bloom." Danse lost it and laughed as she giggled along.  
"Alright you two, quit it or its laps for a week." Hiro said in a stern voice.  
Rhea snorted. "What is Danse running for both of us?" She mocked.  
"We'll put you in a wheelchair and you can work on that arm strength." He smiled to her. His joking very clear.  
She chuckled. "If I did that I'd be swole like you Captain."  
The three of them chuckled together. After he calmed down Hiro got real somber as he moved back to the original topic.  
“He’s been a real big help in my therapy and getting over Adam’s passing.” He held his hands in his lap as he took a deep breath. Talking about Adam was still hard for him. "He's been with me through some of my worst parts of life and I kind of want him to be there for the better parts as well." Hiro's blush came back as he finished.  
Rhea tried to hide her frown before putting on a chipper grin for her friends. Was she always going to be alone? “Well, I’m happy for the both of you. Hell, all of you. Give Curtis and Kay my blessing. I hope they make you two the happiest men alive.” Rhea's smile grew more genuine as she spoke. Her heart began to ache, as it was finally happening, her Captain...her Hiro was moving on and leaving her behind.  
“Don’t worry Rhea we have good news for you too.” Hiro announced. “The military is paying for all of your medical bills, including therapy and giving you a military apartment here on base.”  
Rhea's eyes grew wide. “Hiro how did you manage that?!” She almost jumped out of the bed with shock.  
Danse chuckled. “Hey, when you’re as high of a rank as he is, they’ll wipe your ass if you ask the right people.” Danse said with a grin as he jerked a thumb at Hiro.  
It was then that the rest of the crew piled in through the doorway. Leading the charge was the smallest but brightest member. “The rumor is true! She’s awake!” Sam ran in with a weird device in her hands. Sam was a small woman of roughly twenty perhaps more now. She had short thick sandy blonde hair, a pale complexion and thick rimmed glasses.  
Kay followed behind her along with Hiro’s adopted younger brother Keith. Kay was a tall woman with dark mocha skin, and beautiful blonde hair. She was an alien that helped establish the Earth's outer worldly program. It was her that had spearheaded the Earth's inclusion into the .I.A. She was sweet as could be unless you get on her bad side then she would chew you a new one. Which helped out tons in the negotiations.  
Keith was lean young man, about Rhea's age and just a few inches taller than her. He had dark black messy hair. Blue eyes, and a fair complexion. It was hard to think that he and Hiro weren't biological brothers with how similar they looked.  
Sam held out the device to Rhea. “This will help you learn to walk again.” She grinned, her smile holding her pride in it. “It’s a pair of pedals that you step back and forth on. You can even adjust the resistance to make it more difficult to push them as you go through therapy.”  
“Thanks Sam…I'll need this.” She smiled as she set the gift to the side. Sam was always coming up with neat little devices like this.  
“Rhea we have been so worried about you.” Kay said as she took a seat next to Danse. "It's great to see you awake dear." She glanced around the room. "Danse how many flowers have you bought?" She eyed her boyfriend.  
He shrugged. "A lot?"  
Rhea giggled at the almost disapproving look on Kay's face. "I appreciate the concern and the flowers, guys."  
Keith stepped up next to his brother crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah this one has refused to take a shower without someone watching over you.” He wore a smug look on his face as he told on his brother. "It was like what...three or four weeks ago, that he finally got comfortable leaving to go pee without someone else in the room with you?"  
Kay and Danse nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right." Kay noted.  
“SO not true…” Hiro said hiding his face in his hands. “Maybe just a hair true…” He whispered.  
Everyone broke into laughter at Hiro who managed a chuckle or two himself.  
"It's okay Hiro...I would've done the same." Keith admitted with a slight blush to his cheeks.  
Sam scoffed. "Would've? You did...When Hiro couldn't be here this one filled in for him and did practically the same thing."  
Rhea felt an overwhelming sensation of love wash over her. She enjoyed this feeling of being surrounded by her new family. It was a great feeling to know so many people cared about her. And just how deeply their feelings went for her.  
It was going to take her a while to adjust into civilian life again. But in the following weeks, Rhea's friends helped her adjust to physical therapy and move into her new apartment. It was on the second floor but rather close to the elevator and to her surprise fully furnished. Everyone had pitched in to buy Rhea the basics. The girls had even taken her out shopping after therapy to buy the more personal things she would want or need.  
Thanks to the specialized healing pod technology the Earthlings had learned from the Shet. A highly advanced civilization, recovery was an easier process for Rhea. What would have taken her years of hard work and no guarantee of full recovery, or even walking without assistance. Was looking to be only a few months at best with a ninety percent chance of full recovery of mobility.  
The Shet were turning out to be Earth's greatest ally in bringing them into the .I.A. and updating their technologies to better all races.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhea has a rocky time at the wedding. Hiro the man of her dreams got hitched to another man. Hopefully he knows how to treat Hiro well and will take care of him properly. So Rhea leaves her friends and hops on over to the local bar. She stumbles upon someone new yet familiar. How far will she go with this new guy? Will he help her move on from Hiro? Is there anything between them?

In honor of Rhea's recovery, Hiro had waited to plan his wedding. He wanted her to be able to walk down the aisle on her own as one of his grooms women. It was a bittersweet moment for Rhea as she wanted to thank him for including her in his big moment. But she had also debated turning him down. As it would tear her apart to see the man of her dreams married to another person.  
Rhea ended up accepting Hiro's invitation. The ceremony was beautiful, the two men wore matching white tuxedos with black accents, and they made vows that they had written. Rhea cried when Hiro broke into tears while reading his vows. He bawled like a small child after he managed to get the words out.  
The Hiro's side of the wedding party wore a dark purple. While Curtis' side wore a matching lavender purple. Keith was Hiro’s best man and stood behind Hiro at the Alter. Danse, Kay and Sam rounded out his side of the wedding party. They stood in order of height so Rhea and Sam were on the end.  
Rhea had tried to identify anyone from the other side of the wedding party. Turns out she didn’t know any of them, they were all fellow military but worked from the offices. She swore that they all acted as if none of them had ever seen dirt before in their lives. She had caught one of them complaining to another that the wedding was being held outside in the grass.  
It was a beautiful day, not to mention that the weather had been nearly perfect for the past week. But that's expected when you live basically in a desert. Rhea thought it was selfish of that person to complain about how the grooms wanted to spend their big day. But hey who was she to judge? She wasn't happy about this day happening in the first place.  
Sam and Kay had surprised Rhea by covering her crutch in purple flowers. They had spent all night weaving lilies, and ribbons onto the metal all so she would feel better about using it. She thought it was a nice touch from the girls and had thanked them for it. She was a bit embarrassed for not admitting to the girls that they had been right. It made the crutch look less like a medical device that embarrassed her to use and more like a pretty accessory.  
At the reception Keith found Rhea hiding out at the bar. Once close enough he tapped her on the shoulder. “What are you doing by yourself?” He questioned. He had really thought this would be something she would have loved to be at. Why wasn't she dancing or mingling? Usually she'd be the life of the party, well to anyone around her anyways but she was all alone today. He had thought about asking her to go dance but it was a couples only dance currently. And they weren’t a couple.  
She shook her cup of vodka at him. “You know… enjoying the open bar…” She told him honestly with a slight smile before she slumped against the bar with a heavy sigh.  
“Rhea...it’s not healthy to cope like this.” Keith warned as he leaned against the bar beside her.  
“What else are you supposed to do when the man of your dreams invites you to his wedding to another person…” Rhea hopelessly stared into her drink.  
Keith patted her back, his awkwardness taking over. He wasn’t too good at social situations. “I know you love him. But it isn’t all hopeless.” He took notice of the bags under her eyes, he already knew she wasn't sleeping well but it somehow felt worse today. “Say how many drinks have you had?” He already had a guess but figured he would ask anyways.  
She gave him a long side glace, along with a shrug. “I’m happy for him it’s just...I’m not feeling Curtis...like who is this guy? He thinks he can just swoop in and take our Captain?” She rotated in her chair to look towards the dance floor where many happy couples danced along with Hiro and Curtis. She had to fight her urge to imagine what it'd be like to be the one out there dancing with Hiro.  
Keith turned to watch as well. He couldn’t be happier for his brother but he still felt bad for Rhea. She was having a hard time adjusting to society, everything was different than when she had left. It didn't help that she hadn’t made any friends outside of the ones that were currently here. Plus the fact that most everyone was still active duty and couldn't check on Rhea or spend time with her.  
Only Hiro, Kay and Rhea were inactive now. Kay decided to leave to start her family with Danse. They had a small courthouse wedding and were now preparing for their first baby.  
Curtis pulled Hiro in close for a tender kiss that made everyone clap happily for them. Rhea sighed and turned back towards the bar.  
“They sure are cute…” She said with a sadness before finishing her drink.  
“Okay, I know I can be depressing but Rhea this is too much. You gotta move on. Or at least make some more friends, you’re retired military go out and have some fun…”  
She scoffed as she pulled a five dollar bill out of her wallet and stuffed it into the tip cup for the bartender. “The most anti-social one of the group is lecturing me on being more outgoing and people friendly.”  
Keith sighed. He knew what he was asking of her but he couldn't just stand here and let her be sad like this. "Rhea...."  
"Keith...no. I don't like anyone else. And it's not like anyone else wants to love the crippled girl."  
"Rhea that's uncalled for. You shouldn't put yourself down like that."  
"I can do what I want. It's not like you've done anything to change my mind. Look I know you're going to say you're busy doing stuff but it's still nice to check in on your depressed friend and take them for coffee once in a while..."  
Keith wanted to roll his eyes. “At least I’m out doing humanitarian work instead of wallowing in my self loathing in my house." He sighed then added. "And it's not like I haven't asked you out before....”  
“What if I like my self loathing? I’ll get a cat and become that weird cat lady that never comes out of her house. I’ll get the delivery drones to bring me my groceries and never see the outside world again.” She gathered her things. "And we did try dating but that was before you came out of your shell and became the lovely person you are now." Rhea hugged Keith around the neck as he held her close. Maybe if he didn't let go she couldn't leave. "I don't want to hurt you by dating you and making it like we are the dream couple I’ve always wanted to be. That’s unfair of me to put on you. What I’m saying is that I don’t want to hold you to standards…” She sighed.  
“You mean you don’t want to make me Hiro….” He frowned.  
“I know you two are separate people and that you aren’t Hiro...I love you both but it's not the same kind of love." She held his cheek. "I want to love you the way I do Hiro but...." A tear found it's way to the corner of her eye.  
"Rhea...Don't apologize for being you." He took her hand and held it. "You are my friend and I love you. Yes, things didn't work out between us but you aren't limited to just our friend group. You know that right?"  
"Yeah but dating in this new world is weird....I have a hard time knowing who's real and who's a robot..."  
"I can help..." He started to say.  
"No you can't... you're always light years away on your missions and transmissions to you can take up to weeks to see... I don't have that kind of time. Not for such a little task as that. Not to mention that you are out in the field fighting for your life sometimes…."  
Keith sighed. "Rhea...big or small I want to know what's going on in your life. I don’t care how long it takes to get to me. I will always put your messages first. Besides Kay and Danse are always planet side why don't you ask them to help you?"  
"Cause they have their lives to worry about...as do you. I don’t need to waste your time while you’re out there changing things for the better." She pushed away from him and started heading towards the exit.  
“Where are you going?” Keith asked. His want to go with her growing.  
“Home, where I belong.” She bit out.  
“But you don’t have a ride.” He countered as he took a few steps towards her.  
“I’ll get one of those self driving cars or something.” She grinned towards him.  
Keith merely shook his head and let her go. There was no stopping her now. He pulled out his phone to text the gang about what had happened. He decided to leave Hiro out of it since it was his special day and he didn’t need to be worrying about anyone else.  
Keith: Rhea is leaving, She’s feeling more depressed than ever.  
Kay: How sad! :(  
Sam: I thought she was doing so well!  
Danse: Should we go get her?!  
Kay: Hey wait how is she leaving? I thought we were her ride?  
Danse: Yeah! What Kay said.  
Keith: She’s getting one of those self driving taxis.  
Sam: Poor girl. I hope she gets back to feeling better soon.  
Kay: I'm going to go get her.  
Danse: No, you're not. You're going to stay at our table and wait for the cake I'm bringing you.  
Rhea didn’t feel like going home yet so she had the car drop her off at the local bar. She thanked the robot driver and headed on into the bar. Loud music pumped through the speakers shaking the air as she walked in. It was decently packed for a Thursday night but she found a good seat at the edge of the bar where she could be out of the way and still enjoy herself.  
Deep into the night and almost a bottle’s worth of drinks, the bartender decided to finally cut her off.  
“Man...please don’t do this...I’ve had a rough day. One more and I’ll be good I promise.” She begged him.  
“Yeah well it’s my responsibility to keep you safe. If you have one more I don’t know if I can do that.” The bartender calmly replied.  
“I’m not driving, I’m getting a cab home.” She stated. Hoping that would somehow change the man's mind.  
Another drunk patron stumbled up to the bar and hailed the bartender.  
“Ano-another cosmo please!” The man stumbled over his words as he pushed his broken glasses up his nose.  
The bartender looked between his two inebriated patrons then shook his head. “Nuh-uh. You two have had enough. You get only water from here on out.” He pointed to Rhea then looked over at the glasses man before turning to the register. “And you...I think it’s time you paid your tab.”  
The man stood up and patted down his scruffy looking outfit. He didn't give off the vibe of doing very well. “Uhh...shit where did I put my wallet.” The bartender eyed him as he dug around in a pocket and pulled out a rubber banded wallet and opened it up. He handed the man what was inside.  
“This isn’t enough.” The bartender glowered.  
“It’s all I have…” The man with the glasses sighed. “I guess I need to go do some dishes or something now?”  
The bartender shook his head. “No, Now I call the police and get you out of my bar.”  
“No please don’t do that. Just give me some time and I’ll get you the money, I’m homeless..please don’t send me to jail.” The man pleaded.  
Rhea dug in her purse and pulled out her debit card. “Here put it on my tab.” She said handing the bartender her card. “Also I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused tonight.”  
The bartender shook his head and swiped her card. “Rhea you’re never a problem…”  
The man with the glasses started tearing up as he bowed his head to Rhea. “Thank you miss. I’ll repay you. I promise.”  
The bartender returned her card and left after setting them up with a round of water.  
“No need to. You seem kind of down on your luck too.” She kept looking at him, studying his face. “Do I know you?” She finally asked.  
“Umm I don’t think so...but I’m so drunk I cna’t be sure.” The man stumbled almost falling into the bar.  
She sighed as nothing came to her. “So how did you end up here?” She asked, curious to get to know the stranger she just helped.  
“I’ve been wandering around the city. Finally saved up enough for a few drinks. Decided to treat myself.” He smiled. “What about you? You’re all dressed up.”  
She blushed slightly as she played with her water cup. “A good friend of mine got married today, I was part of the wedding party but it got too mushy for me so I left.” She glanced away from him for a moment.  
“I’ve never been one for mushy shit.” He made a face.  
They shared a laugh. “The grooms were all over each other. They had this little game were if someone near them said some key words they would kiss.”  
“Grooms? That’s neat. You don’t see many gay weddings.”  
“You don’t see many wedding these days, everyone’s all into that small wedding bull shit where you only invite like your parents and maybe a best friend.”  
“Sounds like it was a harrowing adventure.” He snickered.  
“I barely got out of there alive, I even got a lecture from the best man….” She panned her hand across the air in front of her.  
He chuckled hard at her shenanigans. “Hey what’s your name by the way?”  
“Oh so sorry I’m Rhea! And you are…..wait I think I know.”  
Then finally it hit her and she snapped her fingers. “Yes! I haven’t met you but your Adam!” She grinned at him.  
He was taken aback by this development. “Ye-yeh that’s me. How...how do you know me?!” Adam wasn't sure if he should be scared of this young woman.  
“I’ve seen photos of you, Hirosima Tanaka was your finacé! I worked with him in the space corps.” She beamed happily to him. “Once he opened up to me, he talked about you non-stop.” She then had a sudden realization that hit her like a speeding bus. “HOLY SHIT!” She yelled a bit more loudly than she meant to. She glanced around to see if anyone had noticed her outburst. “You’re alive! We thought you died! But here you are!”  
He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. I managed to use my ejector seat in time to not be blown to bits.”  
As she looked closer she could see the discoloration and scarring across the left side of his face that led up into his eye. “Wait...why are you homeless? Haven’t you gone to the military to tell them that you’re alive?” Her face drew in confusion.  
Adam looked sadly down at the bar, avoiding her gaze. “I just recently remembered who I am. I was hiding out in a group of refugees until the attacks were over. The surrounding cities had heavy damage to them so it took awhile to get out for help.”  
“Well I’m happy you’re back.” She smiled at him.  
He felt his heart swell a little. “Thank you.” It was hard to believe that someone still cared for him.  
“OH! We need to tell Hiro!" She beamed at Adam. Just wait until he heard about this! Then she realized what happened a few hours ago. "He’ll be so excited….right…” She took up fidgeting with her cup again.  
“What?” Adam asked, raising an eyebrow at her statement.  
“I’m not sure how to tell you this but...He’s moved on.”  
Adam sighed and took a long drink of his water. “I figured he would. Especially with how we broke up.”  
“Hiro only said that you had a disagreement that you two hadn’t officially broke up.”  
“He wasn’t totally wrong.” Adam played with his cup now. “I told him to not come home if he left for that mission that kept him away for, what has it been? Six years now.”  
“Ouch...I’m sorry Adam.”  
He sighed again. “It’s my own fault, I should have done something more to keep him here. Or even have been more supportive in his decision to leave. It just felt like he was leaving me and everything we had built together behind.”  
“You know what Adam. How does a hot shower and a cozy bed sound?” Rhea asked out of the blue.  
“Are you hitting on me?” He asked raising an eyebrow again.  
She laughed. “No but you said you were homeless, I have a guest bedroom that you’re welcome to use.” She leaned in, grabbing a hold of Adam’s collar to stabilize herself. “Plus I have more vodka at home and no one to tell us we can’t drink it.” She added in a whisper.  
Adam grinned. “You had me at vodka.” The two shared a laugh as they gathered their things.  
“Why do you have a crutch?”  
“I had an accident involving that spaceship that crashed into the desert.” She grinned sheepishly.  
He escorted her out of the bar, with only a few stumbles from each of them. “I think you need this more than me!” She laughed as she tried to hand over her crutch.  
“No, no...no...Don’t you need that?” He laughed as he pushed her crutch back.  
The two finally made it back to her apartment, more or less safe and sound. “So you live here alone?” He asked.  
“Sorta...You’re not gonna kill me in my sleep or something are you?” She joked at him.  
“Perhaps…” He grinned slyly at her as they entered the house.  
“Only if you promise I won’t see it coming.” She laughed as she closed and locked the door.  
“Wow...this place looks just like…” Adam muttered.  
“Like what?” She asked as she turned around.  
“Like our old apartment…” He sighed as he traced his fingers across the back of her couch.  
Rhea went to reach out and touch Adam's shoulder. But she had put too much weight on her crutch, causing it to slip out from under her. The polished hardwood floor giving nothing for the crutch to grip onto.  
Adam turned in time to see her fall and caught her before she hit the floor. His arms brought her to his chest cradling her close as if she were made of porcelain and would break if he let go. The crutch crashed to the floor.  
“You have a bad habit of falling…” He said, his chocolate eyes washing over her.  
She swallowed hard, it felt as if someone had lit a fire inside her chest. Her body started to tremble almost against her will.  
“Yeah I know.” She was at a lost of words. Perhaps it was her alcohol talking but she was entranced by him. Even though his body was scaring from his wounds, he didn’t look any less attractive to her right now. They told a story that she wanted to read. “Adam…”  
“Yes?” He steadied her out but kept his hands on her hips. His body was slowly trying to tell him that he might be interested in this girl.  
“Would you… be opposed…” She bit the side of her lip lightly. Was she really about to do this?  
“Opposed to what?” His fingers gripped at her sides. Feeling her body heat flowing into his palms.  
She swallowed hard. “Perhaps...moving in?" She whispered. "I’m very lonely...er.! I mean that in a I need a roommate way! I swear.” She cursed under her breath as she didn’t mean to blurt out so awkwardly.  
He chuckled. “So you are hitting on me now.” His lips turned into a grin as his hands tried to slide further around her waist. Why was he so interested in this girl? Was he suddenly going bisexual out of the blue? She was pretty and so far been great to hang out with but was she worth changing his preference in gender for?  
“Noo...just you don’t have a place to live and I don’t have many friends...I won’t charge you rent. You just need to cleean up after yourself.” She began to gently rub her fingers up and down his shirt. His chest felt tight. Was he nervous?  
“You’re really hitting on me now…” He grinned watching her struggle. His sadistic side taking over and enjoying the struggle.  
“Adam...I swear. Why would you a perfectly handsome gay guy...like you, take being hit on by someone like me?” She grinned back the alcohol taking a hard effect on her now. It clouded her judgement as she stared longingly into those chocolate eyes.  
“OH so now I’m handsome too?” He pulled her closer to him. Their faces inches apart. His hands slipping down to the small in her back. It felt good to hold her close.  
“You must be for Hiro to like you...although I’ll say his tastes have declined…” She fought hard against the word vomit that bubbled up in her throat. She didn't want to bad mouth Curtis but it took all she had not to do so to his face.  
Adam snickered. “So his new boo is ugly?”  
“Not ugly jussst not attractive in most light settings….” They shared a laugh. “So...Why not say fuck you to this terrible night and make a bad choice with me?” She slid one hand around his neck, her hand cupping the base of his head. The other still resting gently on his chest, her fingers stroking softly. Her body felt like it was on fire as she stood there in front of him. Parts of her starting to feel wet and in need of a man.  
A grin worked its way onto his face before he nodded saying fuck it. His boyfriend that he thought was dead really wasn’t and instead married an apparently ugly man. He was homeless and desperately needing some human affection. Why not see what being straight for a night would be like. It’s not like the woman in his arms was unattractive, quite the opposite. She wasn’t necessarily turning him on right now but he found things in her body that he liked. “Come on before I change my mind.”  
“Wait...you mean it?” She asked a bit embarrassed.  
He pulled her towards the bedroom, she giggled the whole way there. Once the door was shut she leaned up and wrapped both of her arms around his neck.  
It was an odd feeling holding someone so small. He was always the small one, looking up into Hiro’s gentle eyes. Caressing his chest like she was his right now. She felt so breakable in his arms. He wondered if he had ever felt like this to Hiro.  
His fingers felt their way down and around her waist. He couldn't lie, he was a bit nervous, he had only opened himself up like this to Hiro. He swallowed hard then steeled his nerves. He could do this. Right?  
His lips stroked hers with small kisses. To his surprise she was soft. He gripped her sides a bit tighter as he pulled her closer, her hands slid down to rest on his chest. The kiss was soft and warm. He pulled away feeling confused on what he was doing. His body wanted this, maybe even needed it. But his heart felt confused.  
“Adam…” Rhea asked his name as she looked up to him. He knew what she was about to say and he didn’t want her to say it.  
“Sorry...I’m just a bit rusty…” He defended.  
“You don’t need to force yourself…” She started.  
He frowned, he wanted to do this but he was having a hard time with it. He didn't need to her to criticize him on top of it. He’d never done anything with a woman, not like this anyway. And she was very...womanly.  
“You didn’t have to say anything…”  
“Sorry, just if you’re not okay with this we don’t…” She then got an idea and smiled. “Let me lead. Just don’t think and relax.” She reached up to remove his glasses, ten set them on the table next to the bed. She then returned to him and grabbed his hand to lead him over to the edge of the bed.  
Adam squinted as without his glasses he saw next to nothing around him. He saw her standing before him but no details of her came through.   
“Hands up.” She cooed as she pulled at the hem of his shirt. He followed her instructions and let her strip him down. He sat on the edge of the bed naked and kind of uncomfortable as she took off her dress.  
Out of no where she fell down in a crumpled heap on the floor, he stood up. “Rhea?!” Fear bubbled through him as he worried she had broken something.  
“I’m fine.” She managed her painful groan into a quite whimper. “I did that on purpose.” She took his hips into her hands and eased him back down onto the bed. Then sat on her knees in front of him.  
Soon he was biting onto his bottom lip and gripping the sheets as she went to work with his member. It was soon standing tall and proud in her small hands. While it was hard to see he did enjoy the look on her face as she popped it into her mouth then back out again. His legs quivered as she played with him.  
“Com...come here.” He breathed as he helped her stand up. He crawled further onto the bed and pulled her on top of him, having her straddle his hips.  
She giggled as she followed his lead, happy that he had opened up a touch. “Cum here?”  
Adam rolled his eyes as his hands slid up and down her sides. He felt the ridges on her right side were she had some damage from her fall. He wondered if it was okay to touch her there.  
Rhea rubbed her hands up and down his chest. All down his left side were scars from the explosion, she felt this desire to take away any pain he had. She leaned down and began to kiss her way from his collarbone up. From the way he moaned in her ear, she knew he was enjoying himself.  
His hands pulled her hips into place, he had a slight mishap as he started to push into her taint but quickly recovered and found the right hole.  
Soon she was as his mercy as he thrust roughly up into her. Her moans coming hard and loud. He bit his lip as the sound was too good on his ears. His body grew more ridged as the need to fill her over came him.  
Her fingers curled, gripping into his shoulders as their hips met over and over again in a dance of passion.  
Adam decided to pull her close, he wanted to feel her skin on his just to know that she wasn’t a figment of his own design. Something real to cling to.  
She laid against him, her face in his neck, he kept one hand around her shoulders and the other on her butt. He gritted his teeth as it had been such a long time that he didn’t have much in him. “I’m sorry….” He murmured as he thrust in one more time before cumming deeply inside of her.  
She laid against him, her breathing heavy. “It-it’s okay...my legs are starting to hurt… I’ve been standing too much for too long today.”  
He sighed and stroked her hair. “Thank you for this…”  
She slid off of him and nuzzled into his side. “I needed this…” She murmured into his neck.  
“Hey...I uh don’t need to worry…” He made a circular motion to down below near her lady bits.  
“I’m on birth control, and I’ll go out and get a day after pill tomorrow.” She informed him.  
He sighed as he relaxed into the pillow behind his head. It was oddly comfy to be laying here like this. His eyelids were heavy with sleep. Soon a soft snore came from his side.   
Rhea had fallen asleep on him. Just like that. She must have been really drunk. Or did she honestly trust him that much? No longer wishing to focus on it for too long, he decided to try and get some sleep too. He gathered up as much of the wad of blanket that sat at the end of the bed as he could with his foot. After bringing the blanket into arm’s reach, he arranged it over them before snuggling down with Rhea under his arm. Adam was soon fast asleep himself.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhea and Adam had sex. It was short but good and just what the both of them needed. Now the two are out on the town buying Adam things he needs for his life to begin again. Will Rhea fall in love with yet another man that she can't have?

Rhea awoke the next morning with something heavy wrapped around her waist. She did her best to look over her shoulder and saw Adam’s sleeping face just a few inches away from hers. He made a disgruntled noise and smoothed her hair out of his face. She smiled softly before rolling over to face him.  
“Good morning…” She whispered as his hand pulled her closer. Rhea couldn't believe how nice it was to have someone hold her.  
“It’s too early to be awake…” He mumbled into the pillow above her head.  
Rhea snuggled into his chest, tracing his scars with her fingertips. She didn't press down, only letting her fingers skim the surface of his skin. “I’m sorry you got caught up in all that…” She almost whispered.  
He grunted and let out a yawn before burying his face into her hair and curling his body around hers. She was warm and her skin was soft against his, he didn't want to let go quite yet. “You’re too damn snuggly…” He murmured.  
“I don’t mean to be…” Her reply hid in her breath as she closed her eyes, relaxing into him.  
Adam begrudgingly reached over to the table to feel around for his glasses but couldn’t seem to find them. Rhea rolled over, grabbing them in no time before snuggling back into him.   
A small groan rolled out of his lips, he was beginning to lose that want to be touched. He had hit his limit of human affection. At least the skin to skin kind.  
“Get off...I actually want to get up now…” He grumbled.  
“Picky picky….” She bit out as she sat up to stretch out her arms.  
Once he got his glasses on he let out a sigh almost a gasp actually. Rhea was a very good definition of womanly! She had lots of curves to her body. Round breasts, curvaceous hips. He was in doubt at himself. Was he in some kind of dream?  
He flopped back against the pillow. “Wow...I really know how to pick them…” He mumbled.  
She looked back at him before flopping down next to him, propping herself up on one arm. “What do you mean by that?”  
“I go from the manilest example of a human to the womanilest...does this make me bi?”  
She giggled at his conundrum. “I guess it does. Or at least for the one time it does? Depends how attractive am I right now?” Rhea gave Adam a kind smile as she wiggled her hip back and forth.  
He shifted his gaze to her. The left lens of his glasses decided that now was an appropriate time to fall out and hit him in the face. He growled a bit, before sitting up and trying to fix the problem. “Eh..." He wasn't sure how to say this without being rude. "I mean you are a very attractive woman but do I want to fuck you again right this second? No not at all.”  
“Gee, thanks…” She rolled her eyes at him before snagging his glasses and fixing them for him. “Shit. You really need a new pair of these.” She looked over the what could hardly be called a pair of glasses.  
“Yeah well I’m broke so I can’t get new ones.” He stated as if she didn't know this fact.  
“Go take a shower." She handed him the glasses back. "I’ll find some breakfast and then we will go and get you new ones.” She said as she crawled over Adam to get out of bed.  
“You’re giving me a home and buying me glasses?” He asked suspiciously.  
“Why not?” She shrugged as she turned around to face him. “A friend told me that I need to do something with my money. I really can’t think of any ways I want to spend it, so why not help someone else out?” She turned to her dresser and pulled out a pair of leggings. “Even if they are the grumpiest man in the world….” She grinned at him.  
He rolled his eyes again before crawling out of bed himself and making his way towards the bathroom. “And what will I wear? My clothes are so caked in dirt it's not funny.”  
“I’ll take care of it. And no I won’t give you anything too girly. No skirts or dresses."  
"No pink either..." He warned as he stood beside her.  
"I have some men sized clothes around here...although you’re pretty thin...they might fall off.” Her eyes ran up and down his body, he was in bad shape. Long and thin, you could see some of his ribs and the top of his hips. She wasn’t sure if he was naturally a thin man or if the couple of years of being a refugee had malnourished him that badly. He was quite handsome, despite the malnutrition and the large scar running from his left hip all the way up to his left eye. He had tan skin, with deep chocolate colored eyes, a light brown mop is what he called hair. As he walked naked to the bathroom Rhea got a good look at his rear end and instantly knew why Hiro had liked him so much. He was a handsome man with a great ass, he and Hiro had that much in common.  
Rhea gave a frustrated sigh, why did she have to like gay men with beautiful, round butts?  
As Adam showered up, Rhea made a simple breakfast of eggs and bacon. She didn’t keep much on hand. She purposely planned some of her meals to be in town that way she had an excuse to socialize. It was her little reminder that she wasn't alone out here.  
The layout of Rhea’s apartment was nearly identical to the one Adam and Hiro had shared back in their dating days. It brought back memories that Adam thought he had lost.   
The structure may be the same, but the items inside of the apartment were totally Rhea’s. Like the wall sized mirror in her bathroom that was comprised of smaller mirrors. He was both amused and intrigued by this addition. Why would someone need a wall sized mirror? It made pooping a weird experience. He saw a side of himself that he had no need to see what-so-ever. Hopefully this addition was only to the master suite. He wasn't sure if he could get used to seeing himself doing his business.  
He took a step out of the shower feeling refreshed and a bit scruffy all at the same time. He took the towel and wiped down a part of the mirror to look at himself. He hadn’t really seen much of the damage that had been caused by the explosion. There weren't many usable mirrors in the wastes of the cities. He was almost torn in half and it was a miracle that they had put back together. Considering the lack of medical devices.  
Adam stared at the mirror, looking over his broken body. Little white scars decorated his body like some sort of reverse water painting. The scaring started about half way down his left hip. It spread out across his stomach then reached up and over his shoulder. It then trickled further onto his face and branched out like a tree under his eye.   
For a while he had been missing his hair, it all burnt off in the explosion. Honestly he was just happy that it had grown back, he didn't think he was very attractive without hair.  
He touched his cheek just under his left eye, it was a miracle that he could see at all out of his eye. It wasn’t good in any way but he still had his eye. Although it had changed color and made it look as if he were blind.   
Adam turned around to look at the damage back there. His back wasn’t much better than his front with scars branching out across it. He sighed, having seen enough of his disfigurement, then put on the clothes that Rhea had provided for him. A simple pair of basketball shorts and a band t-shirt that he had never heard of before.  
He walked out of the bathroom and knew right away that she had been right about the fit. The shorts were slipping down off of his hips. The smell of bacon hit his nose causing his mouth to water. He hadn't had bacon in a long time. He made his way to the kitchen and stood at the island where a plate of bacon sat and next to it a plate of eggs.  
“Sorry I wasn’t sure what you liked so I went with something simple that most people would like. Also I don’t know how to cook eggs any way but scrambled...so I apologize for the lack of flair.” Rhea gave a shy smile to Adam. He cleaned up nicely, perhaps later she could take him by a barber.  
“Okay so if I move in, I’m definitely doing the cooking or you’re learning how to cook so that I don’t have to deal with this shit.” He was less than impressed with the eggs but he found the bacon to be right to his liking. Rhea wasn't a terrible cook. He'd give her that.  
“Sooo?”  
“Your eggs suck...but you’re onto something with this bacon. Is it maple sugar?” He grinned at her as he popped the piece of sugary heaven into his mouth.  
“Yep coated it in brown sugar and a bit of maple syrup then fried it up to a nice golden brown.”  
“I don’t like sweet stuff very much but I like this.” He nodded his approval as he reached for a second piece.  
She grinned. “So that’s why you’re having a hard time warming up to me.” She joked.  
He scoffed and ate another piece of bacon.  
"Hey leave some for me!" She giggled as she reached out to take a piece herself.  
"You can have the yucky eggs, this is mine." He laughed as he started to take the bacon plate away from her side of the kitchen.  
After breakfast, they headed out to the base doctor and got Adam fixed up with a new pair of glasses. Rhea also picked up her medicine and took it immediately. She didn't want to risk anything by delaying taking it.  
“So, What type of clothing do you like? We’ll go shopping then grab some lunch while we're out.”  
“What makes you so sure I want to keep hanging out with you?”  
“You have no choice I’m keeping you.” She smiled up at him. “I like you Adam. You’re very interesting.”  
“Honey, you sure you want to do this? I'm not the easiest person to live with just ask Hiro....we fought more than once.” Adam dropped his eyes to focus on the road.  
"I think we will be just fine Adam..." Her smile was reassuring. "I got along with Hiro, Danse, Kay, Sam and Keith while we were all cramped on a spaceship deep in the outer reaches of space. Not to mention I had been imprisioned with aliens at one point."  
Adam looked at Rhea then nodded. "Yeah that's a lot of roommates and I'm guessing not all of them were that great."  
"Nope!" She giggled. "Danse snores, Hiro's not allowed to cook and Kay didn't understand a lot of human things so we had to constantly tell her what we were doing and why."  
"Sounds rough." Adam joked.  
"It's whatever. I enjoyed my time with them."  
"Do you miss them?" Adam looked over at Rhea, she seemed to be remembering something.  
"Sometimes....But it's okay. We still keep in contact and we meet up every once in a while to check on everyone and how their doing." She sighed. "I need to call Keith and make up to him before he leaves again."  
"Keith...like Hiro's younger brother?"  
"Yeah. He's still actively doing things with the special ops."  
"I didn't know he had joined. Damn time flies. Have you thought about dating him? I assume you two aren't a thing since...well because of last night."  
"We tried to once but it didn't work out. He's not very romantic."  
"Ah well. Perhaps it's for the best. Long distance relationships are hard. Especially when you're light years away and you only talk every two weeks at best."  
"And now I have you so it'll be okay." She turned a shy smile his way.  
"Whoa whoa..hold your horses. Just because we fucked doesn't make us.."  
Rhea's cheeks tinted red. "I didn't mean like that! I was just saying that I have you as my roommate now. I won't be as lonely..." Rhea turned away from Adam, looking down the empty road.  
"Sure you did. But are you sure you want me as your roommate? I can't offer you very much. Like rent for example."  
"We will get you set up with the veterans program and I don't need any rent from you. If you cook and clean then that'll make me plenty happy."  
"Okay but don't say that I didn't warn you." Adam nudged Rhea's shoulder with his.  
She was still blushing as she turned back to him, smiling. “I shall call you squishy and you shall be mine and you will be my squishy.”  
“What the hell was that?” He asked, the possibility of rethinking his decision going through his mind.  
“What don’t you watch movies?” She walked ahead of him down the long driveway of the military base towards the bus stop just outside of the gate. For someone who needed a crutch she sure got around pretty fast.  
“I don’t think I’ve seen that one.” He said as he took a stride or two to catch up to her.  
"Do try and be faster...the bus won't wait long." She grinned. "A cripple is out walking you for Pete's sake."  
“I'll walk however I want to." He chuckled. "Do I get to redecorate the apartment?” He asked a sly grin on his face.  
“No. But your room is free rein for however you wish to keep it. Just it shouldn’t be dirty or smelly in a bad way to where I can notice it.”  
“Okay so mud is an approved decorating tool.”  
“I didn’t say that.” The bus pulled up and allowed them to hop on.  
“But you didn’t not say that.” He wore a mischievous grin as he followed her.   
“Hey Rhea, going into town for groceries?” The friendly bus driver greeted.  
“Hey Phil, no not today. I'm treating my friend here to some much needed lunch.” She hooked her thumb back towards Adam as she showed Phil her bus pass then dropped some money into the bin for Adam to ride along with her.  
The two chatted as the bus made its way into town. Rhea learned from Adam that Hiro has always been a terrible cook and that Adam had always done the cooking for the two of them. Apparently Hiro would burn anything if he was left unattended.   
"So wait how long where you gone?" She asked.  
"Not even two minutes! And as I'm turning around to go back there's suddenly black smoke and the smoke detector is going crazy! He didn't even have an excuse for what happened. It was just 'Adam I don't know what happened! It just suddenly caught fire!'" Adam pretended to sound like Hiro. He couldn't help but chuckle along with Rhea. Her laughter was infectious.  
"Well now I know why he never cooked for anyone. Danse once told me that he wasn't allowed to touch anything more complicated than cereal."  
Adam snorted. "I would barely trust him with that! Heaven knows that I love that man...but like how bad can you be at cooking?"  
Rhea could tell that Adam was starting to feel bad about Hiro. Truth be she was too. So she changed the subject to one she thought Adam might like better.  
Rhea learned that Adam was pretty reserved on the outside but he had a wicked sense of humor and tended towards the dark side of it as well, much like herself.   
They spent the day getting to know each other and did like many friends before them have done. Once inside of their choice of clothing store, they picked out goofy outfits for each other to try on. It was hard for the two of them to stop giggling.   
Adam learned just how daring Rhea would go with her clothing choices. He had hoped she'd be more outrageous with her clothing, but it was looking like he could more easily tease her instead. In conclusion, she was not very daring. But it was fun to hold up a thong or other intimate article of clothing and watch as her face changed at least six different shades of red.  
Overall they enjoyed themselves which is what they both really needed. They had fallen on enough hard times in the past little while, it was nice to have someone to lean on and just enjoy their company.  
“So where to next?” Rhea asked. She was enjoying herself quite a lot today.  
“How about home? I’m tired and I really want to get out of these clothes….” He looked down at the band t-shirt that he was wearing. “I really want people to stop coming up to me and ask about this stupid shirt.”  
Rhea stopped for a moment, leaning against her crutch to punch his arm lightly as she chuckled. “Hey I really like that band.”  
“Oh yeah I keep forgetting you like outdated music cause you’re a granny now!” Adam laughed as he jumped out of the way of another swing. "Seriously! Your old enough to be my grandmother!"  
Rhea managed to lean in closer to Adam. "Yeah well at least I'm the cutest grandma you've ever fucked!" She whisper shouted before giggling.  
Adam blushed for a moment before clearing his throat and leaving that topic behind. He wasn't ready to talk about that subject now or ever again. It wasn't that he had a terrible time with Rhea. Not at all, he was just still very confused about it all. He liked men, they were his preferred choice but Rhea stood out from other women for some reason.  
She wasn't more masculine or anything like that but maybe it was her attitude. She reminded him a lot of Hiro. A big goofy grin, a sweet face, the need to make the world a better place. The good will that spewed from this girl was incredible. He had seen her tip almost everyone she'd come in contact with today.  
"Hey hurry up or you'll miss the bus!" Rhea called from the bus stop.  
Adam shook off his funk, leaving it for another time and ran to catch up to Rhea and the bus.  
They made off with their treasures and once safely back home. Adam fell into the groove of preparing dinner. Rhea watched with much enthusiasm as he cooked. Ever since she was little, she had a fascination for by cooking, even preferring to watching cooking shows to cartoons sometimes.  
“Walla! Delicious dinner alla Adam!” He took a bow as he served up the first plate to Rhea.  
She dove in like an animal and began to shovel the food in her mouth, enjoying every bite. “OHMYGOD!” She yelled with a mouthful of warm deliciousness.  
“Hey slow down or you’ll choke.” He smiled as he wiped a piece of food from her cheek with a napkin. “Besides you haven’t put me in your will yet, if you die who gets all your stuff?” He grinned.  
They both broke out into laughter. “Well I will get right to work on that.” She smiled back.   
After dinner, they each showered up then laid about on the couch for a little while just binging some tv. Or like most of us scrolling through the options on the streaming site for at least an hour before finding something to actually watch. Usually the first thing you had said you wanted to watch but thought you could find something better. Hint, you never really do.  
About half way through the two hour movie, Adam had noticed Rhea curl up on his side. She tucked her head into his shoulder while laying her hands on his thigh.   
Adam wrapped a gentle arm around her and stroked her forearm in a soothing manner. “Tired?” He asked in a soft voice.  
He felt her nod against his side, she was exhausted but didn’t want to tell him that. From all the preparations for the wedding and being out in town all day today it had worn her out. Not to mention their bought of drunken sex that had left the two of them fairly hungover this morning.  
Adam took the controller into his hand and paused the movie. Rhea glanced up at him, questioning what he was doing.  
“Go to bed.” He instructed simply, it wasn’t a command but it wasn’t really a request either.  
“Nu-huh…” She shook her head and cuddled closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.  
“Rhea...It’s not healthy to sleep on the couch, like I know you do all the time.”  
“You don’t know that. I’ve never said I sleep on the couch….all the time.”  
Adam raised an eyebrow. “Uh-huh...and by the way you said that I don’t believe you. Get up and go to bed.”  
She sighed seeing that she had lost. “Carry me?” She gave him the biggest sweetest smile she could muster. "Please?" She added in a cute voice.  
Unfortunately, it came off more sleepy than she had wanted but it worked none-the-less. Adam got to his feet, then carefully lifted her off the couch before taking her back to the bed room.  
He laid her in the bed and tucked her in. “Get some sleep Rhea.” He whispered to her. He went to the door and smiled back at her.  
“Good night Adam…” She smiled at him and waved her fingers.  
He nodded his head and crossed his arms as he leaned on the door frame. “Good night Rhea. Have sweet dreams.”  
She grinned up at him and gave him a thumbs up. “You know it. You have sweet dreams too Adam.”  
With that he turned out the light and went back into the living room. He put the movie back on, he wasn’t very tired yet and he didn’t sleep well these days anyway. Yesterday was one of the few times he didn’t wake up in the middle of the night for any reason. He sighed and leaned his head back. Adjusting to society was going to be hard.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam finally makes the transition from .M.I.A. to Veteran with the help of Rhea. But her actions leave him feeling a bit frustrated. She means well but she's going about it the wrong way. With her own frustrations of being alone getting in the way, How can he show her that she still deserves love?

Over the next month, Rhea helped Adam fill out the required paperwork to get him in the veteran program. And to have his name removed from the wall of those lost in the attack. The Generals welcomed him back with open arms. It made them very happy to remove such a good man from the wall of the lost.

After one of their visits to turn in some paperwork, Rhea and Adam stopped by the massive monument for the fallen. A room with glistening floor to ceiling obsidian housed a single wall. It held the plaques of thousands of names of good men and women who served their planet well. It was a solemn place whose only sound was the soft patter of the flowing water underneath the massive moment.  
“I knew so many of them….” Adam murmured as his gaze moved up the wall of fallen heroes. A somber tone filled the air.  
Rhea stood nearby to offer support. “For a while, you were one of them….”  
“Rhea...not the time.”  
“Sorry..." She mumbled, embarrassed of herself. "D-do you want a moment alone?” She asked with hesitation, unsure about leaving him alone.  
He nodded as he choked back tears, before leaning forward firmly pressing his fist against the cold stone of the monument. Raw emotions tore through him as he let his grief out. Too many good people were lost in the blink of an eye.  
Rhea slipped away to give Adam time, taking a seat one of the benches outside of the room that houses the monument. She didn’t mean to make Adam feel bad about surviving, she just didn’t know how to help him right now. She had lost many people in her life but not nearly as many as Adam had. She sighed, knowing that she had no plan to help him. Time...she needed to give him time and her patience, that's the best she could offer right now. She began to tap her fingers along the side of the bench as she stared at the floor out past her feet.  
‘He hadn’t lost everyone…’ An idea was taking form in her head that she wasn’t entirely sure of the consequences. But her heart acted out before her brain could stop her from pulling out her phone and dialing.  
Luckily he picked up immediately. “Hello?”  
“Hiro. I’m so sorry to bother you but I was wondering what you and the mister were up to today.”  
“Hey, Rhea! I’m so happy to hear from you. Sadly it’s just me. Curtis is out on a business trip.”  
Rhea’s ears perked up. This was great news, she and Curtis never really got along. “Oh, Well I hope he is having a good trip. Would you mind if we met up for dinner? It's about time we got together anyway.”  
“Sure. It sounds like a plan! I was gonna cook lasagna tonight.”  
“Oh, then I better bring some backup food." She joked.  
"Haha...no, this one is just one of those frozen ones. I can cook premade things." He joked back.  
"Wonderful. I don't like having to call the fire department when we hang out." She smiled to herself. "Hey, would you care if I bought a guest?”  
Hiro gave such a hard laugh that he snorted. “No problem. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. But we may want to keep the fire department on speed dial. You never know when you could use some eye candy.”  
Rhea laughed. "You're a married man. You shouldn't be ogling the firemen."  
"I can look but not touch." He teased.  
“Well I don’t want to keep you and I have a couple of errands to run before I come over…is there anything you want me to bring?"  
“Nope. Just yourself and your friend. And yeah I should probably go as well. But I will see you tonight. Dinner at fiveish?”  
“Sounds perfect, Thank you Hiro.”  
Hiro chuckled. “Anytime. I’ll see you later.”  
With that, they hung up. Rhea smiled as she put her phone away. She looked up to see Adam staring at her with a questioning look on his face.  
“Why are you smiling?” He asked, wondering what she had roped him into.  
“We've got a dinner date tonight. So let’s wrap our shit up quickly.” She grinned at him.  
“We?” He questioned defensively.  
“Yes, we. I’ve got to show off my new partner in crime.” She said as she stood up. Adam handed her crutch to her and they were on their way.  
Later that night Rhea helped Adam pick out a nice outfit, telling him that he would NEED to look nice. He didn't feel like dressing up but settled with her and wore a nice pair of slacks with his white NASA t-shirt and it all came together with a simple brown jacket. Rhea didn’t dress up very much either, she wore just a pair of olive green jeggings and a nice black sweater.  
“Hey, are you okay?” Adam whispered over Rhea’s shoulder as she stood on the doorstep in front of him. He had gotten a strange feeling of unease from her all day.  
“Yeah…” She lied as she rang the doorbell. Sweat began to roll down her spine as they waited. Why did she decide to wear a sweater? It was making this all worse somehow.  
Soon the light from inside the house shown out onto them. Hiro stood there in the doorway, he was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of dark-wash jeans, along with a warm smile. “Hey, Rhea…..who is…” His jaw dropped as he realized who was standing in front of him. “A-Adam?” He whispered.  
“Hiro?” Adam looked as stunned as Hiro did.  
Rhea's cheeks turned red as she looked between the two men. “So Hiro...This is my friend Adam.. I think you two already know each other.” She gave a sheepish smile.  
Hiro stepped out onto the porch and pulled Adam into a tight hug. Tears began to stream down his face as he held his dear friend close. “We thought you were dead..” He whispered, his breath hitched as he fought to push the tears away.  
Adam clung to Hiro as tears welled up in his eyes as well. “They said you’re whole crew was missing. We assumed you died.” He whispered back. His heart ached as he held his old friend.  
Hiro leaned back to take in a good look at Adam. He smiled and hugged him tight again. “It’s really you. I can't believe it...” He murmured as he enjoyed the feeling of his old friend in his arms once again. It was like a dream. One he really didn’t want to wake up from. “I’m so happy to see you.” Hiro stepped back and wiped a tear from his eye. A bright smile plastered to his face, his heart swelled with joy.  
“I’m happy to see you too, Hiro.” Adam whispered as he held onto Hiro for a few more moments. He still felt the same as he used to. Warm and welcoming.  
The men smiled at each other and shared a nervous laugh together, one that was filled with relief. “I’m so glad Rhea brought a friend to dinner.” Hiro announced.  
“Right? I’m glad I came and didn’t just stay at the apartment.” Adam looked around, finally noticing something was missing. Rhea was nowhere to be found. How could someone who couldn’t move very well disappear so easily? Just then Hiro’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished it out and frowned at it as if it had been the reason why Rhea had disappeared.  
“What is it?” Adam asked.  
“Rhea left. She says to have a good time….”  
Adam frowned as well. He couldn’t believe that Rhea had set him up on a date with his ex who is a married man. He couldn't stress that last part enough. He shook his head. He would have to have a serious talk with that girl once he got home but for now, he was going to take the chance to reconnect with his old lover.  
“I guess she thought we needed some alone time.” Adam said with a sigh. Trying to play it off as if he weren't mad at her right now.  
Hiro nodded. “She’s definitely different like that. Well, I have some good food waiting and a lot to tell you so why not come inside for a while? I’ll take you home if you need me to.”  
“That sounds fine, Thank you, Hiro.” Adam couldn’t help but smile as he said the word. Hiro….  
Later that night, Hiro suggested that he drive Adam home. As it would be nicer than riding the bus and not to mention the extra time they'd get to spend together. It had been a good night of catching up and reminiscing the good old times.  
Upon learning that Rhea and Adam were living together, Hiro thought it was a marvelous idea. Neither of them needed to be alone and Hiro thought they would be good for each other in the long run.  
After a sweet goodbye, Adam headed into the building and up to the apartment. He let himself in with his key. All the lights were out. It made sense it was late and Rhea didn’t stay up every night. The whole place looked oddly clean. There wasn’t a dish in the sink, all the laundry had been washed and folded then set on his bed, at least the stuff that was his.  
He poked his head into her room and found the place a mess. He frowned. She had spent the whole time cleaning the rest of the apartment and left her space a mess. He sighed and as he decided to leave, that is until he heard a soft whimper.  
“Rhea…?” He asked softly into the room.  
The whimper sounded again. Knowing that he shouldn't leave, Adam stepped inside the room closing the door behind him. He walked to the edge of the bed and found Rhea curled up in the middle, holding a tear-soaked pillow. It had black streaks of what he guessed to be, mascara and eyeliner on it. A pit opened itself inside of Adam’s stomach, he carefully sat down onto the side of the bed and put a hand on her back.  
She whimpered out again.  
“Rhea...what’s wrong?” He whispered as he gave her a gentle stroke.  
Rhea breathed out heavily then peeked around the pillow at Adam. “OH, you’re home…” She murmured.  
“You know I was here. What is all this about?” He asked as he gestured around him with his free hand. It was hard to be mad at her when she looked like she wanted nothing more than the sweet embrace of death.  
There were things scattered about the room. Half of the bedding was on the floor and the other half was either covered in makeup and tears or wadded in the corner. And the photo that she had of Hiro on her dresser was turned down. He'd never seen her do anything like that to the photo. She usually treasured it like a piece of rare art.  
“Just trying some new decorating styles…” She mumbled into the pillow with a sniffle.  
“Rhea….” Adam had a stern tone to his voice that said don’t fuck with me.  
She sighed and moved to sit up, one of her tank top straps falling as she moved. Her ponytail was half undone and her makeup was partly on her face and partly on her pillow. She pulled the pillow into her lap to cover the part of her belly that had been exposed by her tank top rolling up.  
“Tell me what’s wrong…” Adam urged as he laid his hand on her forearm.  
“I just want you and Hiro to be happy…” She said softly, refusing to look at him.  
Adam sighed and took hold of her hand. “You deserve to be happy too, you know.”  
She nodded but didn’t look at him. She stared past him towards the floor.  
He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. “It wasn’t very nice of you to ditch me at Hiro’s house. You owe me now, I hope you know that.”  
She nodded again as she just stared blankly into the abyss. “I’m sorry. I just...I’ve lost him already and I couldn’t handle the emotions between you two. It was a beautiful moment and I was ruining it by being there. And maybe... the Captain will see that Curtis…” She paused, worried about what she was suggesting.  
Adam stopped stroking her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t you dare say anything. He has a happy marriage with two dogs and you’re not going to ruin it for him. He’s happy where he is can’t you see that?”  
Rhea closed her eyes. “Yes…”  
“I’m glad you hooked us up. I couldn’t tell you how much it meant to see him again but I hope you know that I’m not interested in dating him again. I know you mean well Rhea but you could’ve stayed instead of coming home to be by yourself and crying all night.”  
She shook her head and looked at him for the first time. “I wasn’t crying all night…” She sighed. “Just most of it.”  
“That’s what I mean...Rhea. We need to find you someone else. I know Hiro means the world to you but you need to get over him.”  
She burst into tears. “But I’ve tried getting over him! I just can’t….” She sniffled as Adam moved to cradle her in his arms.  
“Come here, baby…” He sighed as he pulled her into his lap. “I’ll help you. First, we will work on forgetting about Hiro being an option, he can’t be for two reasons.” He looked down at her.  
“But…”  
“No butts. Listen to me, young lady. He’s a married gay man. You are not a man nor his husband. Forget about him.”  
She sighed and nuzzled into Adam’s side her tears drying up. “Okay...momma Adam…”  
He snorted at her terrible joke but it did make her grin and that was at least a start. “Once I feel you’ve gotten over him a bit we will start going out and looking for a guy for you. Does that sound okay?” He rubbed her arm as he asked.  
She nodded with a slight smile. “I’d like that…” She mumbled.  
“You’ll like that?” He grinned.  
“Yeah..” She said softly as she pressed her face into his chest.  
“Oh yeah?” His grin grew as he began to tickle her side.  
She laughed and pushed him away. “Yeah!”  
“Good. Well, you need to go clean your face then head to bed missy.”  
She nodded and crawled out of bed with Adam’s help. After she disappeared into the bathroom he grabbed ahold of her makeup covered pillow and removed the case. Once she returned he helped her pick up the bedding and tucked her in for the night. He really did like Rhea, and the idea of her being his baby chick was starting to grow on him.


End file.
